Alcohol will cause around 135,000 cancer deaths over the next 20 years and will cost the NHS an estimated £2 billion in treatments, according to estimates from a new report by Sheffield University, commissioned by Cancer ...

Alcohol is known to be a risk factor for breast cancer and at least seven types of cancers of the digestive system. It's also suggested that alcohol may increase the risk of cancers of the skin, pancreas and prostate. But ...

Laboratory rats will drink alcohol if it's available, and may even get a little tipsy, researchers report in a new study. But they won't voluntarily drink until they're drunk. And while ethanol is calorie-rich, rats that ...

Light and moderate alcohol consumption of up to two drinks per day is associated with a lower risk of ischemic stroke but seems to have no effect on a person's risk of hemorrhagic stroke, according to a study published in ...

Researchers using coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) have found no association between light to moderate alcohol consumption and coronary artery disease (CAD), according to a study being presented today at the ...

Bottom Line: Alcohol intake was associated with higher rates of invasive melanoma among white men and women. White wine carried the most significant association, and the increased risk was greater for parts of the body that ...

To date, there are not particularly effective therapies for AUD, with only three FDA approved drugs along with behavioral modification programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous. Together or alone, none are particularly effective ...

In a study of 80,000 healthy Chinese adults, moderate drinking was associated with slower declines in high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or good cholesterol, over time, according to a preliminary study presented at the American ...

Heavy alcohol use during adolescence alters the development of brain, according to a recent study from the University of Eastern Finland and Kuopio University Hospital. Cortical thinning was observable in young people who ...

Dec 08, 2016

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Alcoholic beverage

An alcoholic beverage is a drink that contains ethanol (commonly called alcohol). Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits.

Alcoholic beverages are consumed in almost every nation, and most nations have laws that regulate their production, sale, and consumption.

In particular, such laws specify the minimum age at which a person may legally buy or drink alcoholic beverages. This minimum age can be as low as 16 years, as in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. Most nations, however, set the minimum age at 18 years.

In the United States, the minimum age is 21 years.

Alcoholic beverages are a part of most European cultures, and children in these cultures may occasionally drink alcohol during meals with their family. In Germany, 14-year-old persons may drink low-alcohol beverages if their parents are present.

The production and consumption of alcohol occurs in most cultures of the world, from hunter-gatherer peoples to nation-states. Alcoholic beverages are often an important part of social events in these cultures. In many cultures, drinking plays a significant role in social interaction — mainly because of alcohol’s neurological effects.

Alcohol is a psychoactive drug that has a depressant effect. A high blood alcohol content is usually considered to be legal drunkenness because it reduces attention and slows reaction speed. Alcoholic beverages can be addictive, and the state of addiction to alcohol is known as alcoholism.